Local Authors Sought for Book Expo

The city of Bowie is seeking local authors to participate in their second Bowie Book Expo, which will be on May 22 iat the Bowie Senior Center.

Any local author that is published, self-published or independently published is invited to take part in the expo. An application and $20 fee are required for participation. 

The city will provide a table for authors, who will be welcome to display their books. Authors should come prepared to do a five minute reading or synopsis of their book, said Jenny Tringali.

This year’s event will be set up a little differently, allowing for two rooms—one for the book displays and author mingling, and a separate room for the readings.

“The setup was too close to the readings last year and when people were mingling with the authors, it was disrupting the readings,” Tringali said. 

The inaugural book expo in August featured 20 to 25 local authors from Bowie, Annapolis, Davidsonville and surrounding areas. More than 150 people attended the event, said Tringali. 

The idea for the book expo started with a book club at the senior center that would occasionally feature local authors doing readings for members. The book club eventually fizzled out, but authors continued to contact Tringali to do readings at the senior center. Tringali came up with the book expo as a way for all of the authors to have an equal opportunity to share their work. 

Last year, participating local authors included Bowie residents Rebecca Coleman and Austin Camacho.

The book expo will be held on May 22 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Bowie Senior Center. 

For more information on the book expo, or for an application, contact Jenny Tringali at (301) 809-2300 or jtringali@cityofbowie.org